The Pursuit of Extra-pair Copulations by Female Birds: A New Hypothesis of Colony Formation

✍ Scribed by Richard H. Wagner

• Book ID: 102976974
• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1993
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 572 KB
• Volume: 163
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0022-5193
• DOI: 10.1006/jtbi.1993.1123

✦ Synopsis

A previously unrecognized selective pressure is proposed here which may contribute to the formation of bird colonies: the pursuit of extra-pair copulations (EPCs) by females. The "EPC hypothesis" employs the mechanisms of models of lek evolution which explain how males in promiscuous species cluster as a result of females pursuing copulations. It is suggested here that the mechanisms which have produced leks also operate when monogamous female birds pursue extra-pair copulations. The consequent clustering of males and females may contribute to the formation of colonies. While other hypotheses of coloniality stress advantages which accrue mainly after egg-laying, such as enhanced food-finding and reduced predation, the EPC hypothesis explains how and why individuals in colonies cluster prior to egglaying. Once clustering occurs, the stage is set for subsequent advantages of high density breeding to accrue.